Espionage
by OnceUponACastleOfRizzles
Summary: AU Regina lived a quiet life. Until the past comes back to haunt her. (Spy fic)
1. What are ye doowen in mah swamp

A/N - So there will probably be many grammar mistakes and for that I am deeply sorry. I hope you can look past that thought and still enough the story! I'd really like to know what you think.

Regina lived a quiet life. She lived alone and she wasn't the easiest person to talk to, or to make friends with. People tried though. Every day, someone or another tried to include her in town activities but honestly, Regina was never interested. She always wanted to grumble and yell at them to stop asking her to go to things she didn't want to, but she didn't. Instead she was always polite when she declined, she smiled and said thank you like any good person would do.

In the end what it came down to was that Regina didn't want to go to town events and be social; surrounded by people she wasn't comfortable with. They were all too friendly. Too chatty. Too involved in everybody else's life. They were just _too much_. She didn't want other people being nosey in her life. Her life was hers. Nobody else's.

She was never comfortable with the idea of starting over with strange people. She was never convinced on if she could fully trust them. It wasn't in her nature. It had been ingrained into her DNA that she should always be on guard, aware of her surroundings, and possible threats. She should never trust anyone, not even the people she kept close. And as much as she tried to leave that particular lesson she was taught behind and act like a normal citizen she just couldn't. It was too hard.

Regina liked living alone, and preferred not having people interfere with her life, though she did feel at least a little lonely sometimes. She contemplated getting a dog, or a cat, or any kind of pet but she never got around to it. She always talked herself out of it.

She'd lived this great life; had so many adventures; fell in love; and where did she end up? In some small town in the middle of nowhere, by herself.

She missed being surrounded by people she had known for so long and learnt to trust – as much as one in their field could trust – over time. But she could never fully learn to trust and be herself around the new people she met here. Wishing to be around her old team again, played on her mind at least once a day, which she allowed for about 3 minutes only. It was the minimum amount of time she allowed her to think about them. About it.

It was a Tuesday in early December. It was a day like any other she had been living for the past 5 years. She got up, she brushed her teeth, and she got dressed. Ready for another _exciting_ day in the life of Regina Mills.

She went down stairs that morning, picking up the mail as she walked past the front door and she walked to the kitchen as she shuffled through the bunch of letters in her hand. By the time she reached the counter she had determined they were nothing of importance aside from bills she had to pay eventually. She sighed moving around the kitchen as she looked for ingredients for breakfast.

Coffee on the go, eggs frying away, toast grilling peacefully, she waited patiently.

After getting lost in thought she realised a fair amount of time had passed and it was time to turn off the cooker. She plated the toast and the eggs then poured the steaming hot coffee into a mug. She then moved over to the counter, sat down and ate her breakfast. She loved having a warm breakfast, it was like a little gift to start off the day. Just like any other normal day.

It was mid-afternoon before she knew it and she was taking out the garbage so it was ready for collection as soon as possible. She stood there outside her front gate, neighbours shouting hello to her, which she in kind returned, and just looked at the street around her. Turning around in a circle she noticed that out of nowhere decorations for the season had begun to appear up and down the houses lining the street.

Regina wasn't all that into holiday seasons. They meant nothing to her really. However, she decided that it was probably best that she join in and buy some decorations so that her neighbours and the other people who lived in the town didn't come over bugging her about not joining in with the festive spirit. That was the last thing she wanted. She knew they would do it. It had happened every Christmas since she moved to town. Not this year.

So before stores closed that day she went out looking for a few decorations, nothing too extravagant or over the top. Just a few simple things, she bought a wreath for the door, a few reindeer for the garden, and a few twinkly lights that she could put around the porch. That'll do. Not too much, but not too little to be criticized for. After placing the reindeer in the middle of the garden and then sighing in relief, those things were heavier than they looked, then checking that they were stuck firmly into the ground, Regina turned and walked back into the house.

The day had gone by so quickly. It had reached 9pm before Regina knew it. Regina never stayed up late, she wasn't a night owl, any later than 9pm and she considered it to be a late night, even if it was only 10pm.

Regina stood there at the end of her bed getting dressed in her silk pyjamas, ready to sleep the night away, only to remember she left the light on in the kitchen downstairs. Regina hated leaving lights on unnecessarily in the house and if she didn't go down and turn it off, it was most definitely going to irritate her all night. She slid on her slippers, grabbed her robe from the back of the door, and made her way down the stairs.

The house was quiet as she made her way through. Which wasn't out of the ordinary, but something felt off. She wasn't quite sure what it was. She pushed open the door to the kitchen and paused.

Just outside the door Regina just vanished behind, tip toed 5 men in black. 4 carrying weapons, guns all with silencers on as to not alert neighbours to the incoming attack that is about to occur, and if they do their jobs correctly nobody in the street will be any the wiser. 1 of the men was carrying a syringe filled with clear liquid that will knock someone asleep for an extended period of time.

The aim of the mission was not to kill, but that didn't mean blood would not be spilled.

The person at the head of the group halted his followers with a raised hand. The instructions were clear, two would remain in the hall way and three would go through the door and find the target.

The leader raised their hand once more, 4 fingers in the air to signal a countdown.

3 - Gun's raised.

2 - Safety's off.

1 - Go.

Pushing through the kitchen door expecting to see the target on the opposite side they moved one by one, leaving two behind, one with a weapon and one with a syringe.

Unbeknownst to the team in black, their target had detected a threat the instant she stepped foot in the kitchen. The second the door provided cover as it shut behind her she exited the kitchen through the other door on the opposite side of the room. Moving as quiet as a ninja through her own home, she managed to avoid her attackers and come at them from behind.

After she watched three of her enemies enter the kitchen she wandered quietly behind the remaining two threats and said, "Don't you know it's rude to enter someone's home uninvited" she moved her hands on either side of the men's heads and pushed both of their heads together.

One immediately recovering whilst turning to aim their weapon at Regina. Unfortunately they were too slow for the woman and before they could fire a bullet, she pushed the rifle back into her rival's stomach, effectively winding them. Not willing to take a chance on them recovering again she pulled the syringe from the other fellow in the room who was essentially knocked out on the floor and stabbed her current opponent in the neck, ejecting the liquid into his body and then watched him fall to the ground.

A loud bang erupted from the kitchen door in front of her as the remaining three men returned to the hall after hearing the commotion.

"Target's in sight" the leader said to the two following him.

Regina being too far away from the men to attack them without getting shot first quickly dived to her right, taking cover behind the wall as bullets ricocheted around the spot she just removed herself from.

Luckily the spot she took cover in was next to a desk where she had her emergency weapons and essentials hidden in a secret section underneath. She knelt down, quickly reaching under, pulling out guns, flash grenades, spoke grenades, basically any kind of weapon that would be helpful in this case. She immediately pulled the key off of a flash bomb throwing it around the corner making a direct hit with 2 of the men, taking one out, the other still very much in play.

Regina deciding she best move from her not-so-hidden spot quickly, stood up from her crouched position, moving back a few steps then forwards into a ninja roll to get her across the floor and to the opposite side of the house.

She moved through out her house, well aware there were very much still two players on the field.

Regina preferred not to use guns unless necessary, she would much prefer a more hands on approach and knock them out that way, but if it came to it, she would use one and she wouldn't hesitate. She even liked it, she didn't want to get too addicted though.

She was just about to make her way through the living room when she spotted her enemy. Unfortunately for her, he spotted her too. She ran quickly to duck and cover behind the couch as her rival shot at her, leaving a trail of bullet holes through the room and currently imbedding themselves into the couch. Regina waited patiently for the man to run out of bullets before she took her attack.

That moment came.

She threw another flash bomb, with one arm, not even bothering to look if she was aiming in the right spot, over her head and over the couch. The next thing she heard was the man grown in pain as it had hit him on the head, then a bright light surrounded the room. She took that time to move out from her hiding spot and charged through the air, hand balling into a fist and punched the guy square in the jaw. He fell to the ground and he didn't get back up.

One down, one to go.

She didn't have to look very far for the remaining man in black, he was in the next room over. He had been moving towards the living room after hearing the commotion. She knew he was coming though as she could sense his presence. She pulled the weapon from the man she just knocked out, having had dropped her gun when she launched herself behind the couch, and she moved to hide behind the door then waited for him to come around the corner.

He took gentle steps. Trying to be as stealthy as possible going into the room. He made it as far as the body on the floor before he felt the gun pressing against the back of his skull.

"So" Regina said, in her deep voice.

"You have one of two options dear"

The man in front of her gulped.

"Either I shoot you in the back of the head now, or you tell me what the hell this was all about and then there's a slightly less probability that I will shoot you in the back of the head. Now what will it be?"

She waited a couple of seconds before pulling back the safety on the gun, which made an echoing, clicking noise in his ear, then she pushed it against his skull harder.

"Ok. Ok."

"Excellent choice."

She pulled on the back of his jacket, forcing him in the direction of one specific room, picking up a roll of duct tape on the way. "Shall we take this into the study? We have a lot to discuss."

A/N - If you could leave some feedback, so I know whether to go further with this or not that would be fantastic. I hope you smile today.


	2. Hello Queen's of Darkness my old friends

A/N - Hi! I'm glad there are people out there who liked the first chapter!  
There was a slight change in the first chapter. Not a lot, basically I changed it so that they were trying to kidnap Regina rather than kill.  
Again there are bound to be mistakes so I'm sorry for that.  
Okay! Happy reading!  
TW: Death, torture, cutting, blood.

"So Mr… What was it again?" Regina asked as she sat perched on the edge of her desk. The gun in her hand pointed directly at the man in black tied to the guest chair. He just stared her in the eyes and refused to answer the question. Regina sighed as she pushed herself up, placed the gun on the desk and moved a few steps closer to him.

She leant towards him, resting her hands on either arm rest on his chair and moving her face directly in front of his. "You either tell me or we can cut this little charade short and get right to the party," she said in a dangerous whisper.

"You won't kill me." He once again looked her in the eyes.

"Oh? And what makes you so sure of that?"

"You need information."

She regarded him for a second before walking back over to her desk, picking up the gun she placed there before.

She continued facing the window and said "True."

She heard him sigh in relief.

"But that doesn't mean we can't have any fun in the meantime." Regina swivelled on her feet and shot him directly in his left right kneecap, revelling in his scream of agony.

"I'll ask you one more time." She walked to his chair again. This time choosing to push the gun against his chin moving her face uncomfortably close to his.

"What. Is. Your. Name?"

Silence echoed around the room.

His brow started to sweat. His entire body shook with fear and pain. Grinding his teeth together he reluctantly growled, "Hook." She moved away from his face after hearing an answer finally.

"What a peculiar name"

"Yes well" he nods towards his hook "Didn't really get a choice in the matter"

"Well would you look at that I didn't even notice" she asked with amusement in her eyes, obviously lying, she notices everything… most of the time anyway.

He was sick of the anticipation of what was about to happen. He just wanted to be done with it.

"Look can we just get this over with already?"

Regina pouted mockingly, "Spoil Sport" She said "But fine, if that's the way you want to play it." She paused briefly so she could bring forth her embodiment of seriousness and walked back over to her desk.

"Tell me what I want to know."

"What do you want to know?"

"You know what I want to know."

"Do I? As far as I can tell you haven't asked me one specific question other than my name, which I have dutifully answered."

She turned around and watched him for a moment.

"Fine. I'll play. Why did you and your men come here this evening?"

"To find you of course."

"Find me. You needn't have attacked me in my own home for that purpose."

"Well, once we found you we had to take you in."

"And on whose orders was this?"

"Classified." Regina did not like that answer. She picked up the knife from her array of weapons resting on her desk and stalked back over to him, pushing the knife directly into his face, dragging the knife painstakingly slow down his cheek.

"Wrong answer."

He felt the sting all throughout his body as the blood dripped out with the opening of the cut. His entire face scrunched up at the feeling of the knife dragging and digging. "The orders came from up top." He gritted out.

She stopped her hand from descending any further, not removing the knife from his face.

"And let me guess, you have no idea who is running the show?"

"I'm only a minion. Nothing else. I get assignments. I do as I'm told. No questions asked."

"Well that's too bad for you." She pulled away the knife from his cheek, switching it out once again for her gun. She hadn't used a gun for a long time before today so her trigger finger was itchy. Sure she preferred more hands on exchanges, fist fights, knife fights, and those kinds of things. But every now and then, she loved pulling triggers.

"Why," He asked nervously.

"Because, I have no more use for you."

"But I gave you what you wanted."

"Did you? As I recall, you only gave me one straight answer… your name."

"But –"

"You should be grateful. If I weren't in such a rush to figure out why someone is trying to kill me or at least attack me, I'd take my time. I'd be much more thorough with your torture. But it's your lucky day. You get one bullet to the head. Quick and painless… how unfortunate. We were having such a good time too."

"Wait!"

She pulled the safety back on the gun.

"I have one thing I can give you!"

She reluctantly stopped the finger pressing into the trigger of the gun.

"What's that, dear?"

"Just a name. Emma Swan." He didn't get a chance to say anything else because Regina had just shot him point blank in the middle of his head.

"Arghhhhh," she yelled out loud. Both in relief at finally getting to shoot someone after all this time, and both in anguish at hearing that name again.

Regina shook her arms to get her focused again. _Right_. Wasting no time she went upstairs to grab her essential clothes amongst other necessary cargo for the trip she was about to embark on.

She put her two suitcases in the trunk of her car before heading off into the night.

Regina reached the end of the road before slamming her foot on the break of her car. She got out of the spy life a long time ago. If she drove any further, she knew there would be no turning back. She wanted to forget it and go back home. But she knew they'd keep coming for her. She had to keep going. She had to keep driving. She had to find out why there was someone after her.

 _"Emma, No."_

 _"Yes, Regina. Do it."_

 _"I can't. I love you, Emma."_

 _"I love you too. Now do it."_

 _"Em-ma.."_

 _"Regina."_

 _"Do it."_

 _"I can't."_

 _"Yes you can. Look at me Regina. Look me in the eyes. You can do it. I love you."_

 _The sound of a gunshot echoed through the air and Emma Swan fell to the ground._

The irritating sound of a car horn beeping loudly pulled Regina from her daydream. Immediately coming back to reality she realised the light in front of her changed green signalling her to go.

"Alright!" She yelled whilst sticking her hand out the window to signal she heard them the tenth time and put her foot down to move forward down the street. She had decided it was time to meet up with some old friends who could help her. If only she could find the right place.

She pulled over to the side of the road once again looking at the map and address she had. She couldn't for the life of her figure it out. She ended up having to ask a nice fellow on the side of the road. Who instructed her that if she took a left it would take her to the docks, which she would then need to get a boat from as the house she was looking for was way out on the water. Well not on the water, there was a little island just off the coast which no one was allowed to visit.

Regina ignoring the warning that no one was allowed to visit there headed to the docks finding the fastest boat available, and set a course for the island.

It wasn't that long of a journey out there, but Regina got to admire some beautiful scenery on her way which she loved to do. That's what she loved when she was a spy, she got to travel to so many places around the world and admire many different sceneries. She missed that. She didn't get to admire things like that so much anymore.

She pulled the boat slowly up to the dock at the edge of the house. She got out of the boat cautiously and stood in one spot momentarily, just to take in her surroundings. After deeming the area to be safe from booby traps she moved forwards a few steps. She had reached her fifth step off the boat when she was bombarded with a swarm or angry dogs barking at her.

Regina could do many things. But understanding how an animal will attack and how to avoid it was a tricky one. Not impossible but she could get around it if need be. By any means necessarily.

She heard a whistle from the distance signalling for the dogs to relax and sit.

"Honestly, Darling. Showing up unannounced. I could have killed you without a second thought."

"Cruella. I didn't expect to see you here."

"Nonsense, I live here now."

"Oh how quaint. You living on an island... Which is basically a mini forest. It's hilarious really."

"Yes, yes I know. It's absolutely ghastly. But, what can I do."

"I know one thing you can do"

"Oh?"

"You can take that gun you're pointing at my waist away now"

"But how do I know you won't try something... You could be here to kill me for all I know"

"Now why would I come here to kill you?"

"Because last time we met I tried to kill you… keep up, Darling. It's a vicious cycle."

"That was a long time ago. We've grown since then. Come on. I'm here to see Maleficent. I have no quarrel with you. Let bygones be bygones."

"Oh alright. At the very least if you do try to kill me it will be some excitement I haven't had in years! Years I tell you! Now chop chop."

Cruella turned, whistled to the dogs and walked towards a broken down car to the left of the dock, nowhere near the direction of the house.

"Aren't we going to –"

"What you honestly think we'd live there? It's rotting to a pulp and being the genius spy's we are would rather have a cover house for when they try and find us. Because you know they'll try and find us"

"They?"

"Oh my we have much to discuss,"

She popped open the trunk of the old car which shown a staircase descending into a giant underground house fit for a queen... or three.

"You've certainly out done yourselves,"

"What did you expect us to live like peasants?"

"From the look of the house outside well… yes actually."

"You know how I like nice things dear, I could never live like a peasant. Why were you here again?"

"Last night a team of men tried to attack me in my own home last night, I managed to get one of them talking but he didn't know much, he just said… Never mind what he said it wasn't important but I need help figuring out who is coming after me."

"Exciting! I'll go get Mal for you… I'll bring Ursula too."

"Ursula's here?"

"But of course," Cruella said before leaving the room to find her housemates, not waiting to hear a reply from Regina.

Regina looked around the little underground home they have here. It looked just like a regular house. Except there were no windows, at least not one that she could see.

Regina walked into the so called living room and took a seat on the remarkably comfortable couch that was waiting for her. She had barely been sat down for a second before she stood back up again to greet the two women she used to work with. Her old team. At least part of it.

"It's so good to see you again" Regina said as she pulled Maleficent in for a hug before moving on to Ursula. She knew Cruella wasn't the type for hugs so she just nodded her head towards her in a silent agreement.

She walked back over to Maleficent, grabbing her arms and looking into her eyes to convey the seriousness, "I need your help."

A/N - I hope you liked it! Please please leave feedback, it gives me inspiration to write more!


	3. You are Gold!

A/N – Apologies for how late this is. I've had a terrible time lately I haven't been feeling the best and I'm just really down at the moment. So if any future chapters are late it's because of that. Not too much going on here but yeah. I hope you like it anyway. Again apologies for mistakes. Again apologies for mistakes.

 _Ring. Ring. Ring._

He glanced over his shoulder to the noise which was disturbing his reading. Most people wouldn't dare interrupt his quiet time so whoever was on the other end of the phone was about to be castrated.

 _Ring. Ring. Ring._

He huffed under his breath, folded over the newspaper and stood from his chair. He walked over to the irritating ringing. It was one of those old phones. You know with a rotary dial in the centre. Of course it wasn't actually a real one that spins, it was just designed to look like one of those but it still had the buttons. He could never quite figure out how to use an actual rotary dial telephone.

He cleared his throat, displeasure in his voice and answered, " _What?"_ he seethed out. His anger dimming when he heard who was on the other end.

"Did you find her?" the voice said.

"We did, but then the imbeciles lost her."

"How unfortunate."

"For them anyway. They've been taken care of accordingly."

"You run a tight ship over there. Good to know."

"Yes, there are no room for mistakes here."

"So what are you going to do?"

"I think I have an idea about where she might have gone to."

"Well I hope you're right."

"You never did tell me why you freely gave up information on her fake death?"

"I have my reasons."

"Care to share?"

"It's need to know."

"And I don't need to know, is that it?"

"Precisely. Besides, what does it matter, we're both getting what we want."

"You better hope so."

He didn't wait for a reply he slammed down the phone.

"What can we help you with Regina?" Maleficent asked as she directed Regina to take a seat.

"I was attacked in my home last night and I need to find out who it was, what organisation; why are they after me?" She replied anxious to hear any information that could help her.

"Well I can't really help you just off of that description. Is there anything you can tell me about the people that attacked you? Were they were specific outfits, did you see any logos, organisation names, symbols, anything that can help me help you?"

Regina sat for a minute thinking deeply.

She closed her eyes to try and imagine the attack again to see if she could remember any small details. Her mind was replaying what happened as if she were watching a scene from a movie on fast forward.

Her eyes shot open.

"They were definitely all wearing black, but if I'm remembering correctly, and I'm rarely wrong, they had a symbol of some kind towards the left of the chest. Like a company logo. It was it was kind of, hmm I'm not sure how to describe it. I can draw it, do you have any paper around this place?" Regina asked the audience.

Ursula pulled open the draw closest to her pulling out an A5 notebook and passed it to Regina along with a pencil.

Regina put pencil to paper and started to draw. At first it just looked like a lot of squiggles which caused the three other members in the room to look at each other silently judging the drawing.

Eventually when Regina had finished it actually did look like something. Regina turned the notebook around so that the women could see it the right way up and all three of them collectively gasped.

"What? What is it?"

"You shouldn't have come here Regina." Maleficent said.

"Why? Who is it?"

"That symbol," Maleficent pointed to the page, "is not from the kind of person you want it to be from."

"I don't understand."

"When you quit the business, we moved on from our old organisation and moved onto… well a much darker one shall we say? At least that was and still is the reputation for the place."

"Right" Regina followed along with Mal's words carefully.

"Of course you wouldn't have thought it could've got darker than our previous employer, but it did. That symbol. Is a dagger."

"A dagger?" She looked back at the paper to examine the drawing. Regina was no artist. But if you squinted now, you'd see it too.

"The dagger is a symbol for the dark one. The dark one is well, basically what the title sounds like, the darkest one of them all." Ursula jumped in to say.

"He is not someone you want coming after you. He is the organisation we were trying to hide from. The 'they' who are still trying to find us now. You coming here has put us all at risk." Mal said taking back the reins of the conversation.

"I was careful. Nobody followed me."

"Are you absolutely sure about that Regina? You haven't been in the business for a long time now. You forget things when you don't do them regularly."

"Yes. I'm sure. Quite sure. Yes." Regina tried to convince herself as well as the others that she wasn't rusty.

"Fine I'm not 100% sure." She said rolling her eyes in a huff.

"I don't know what to do. If I go back into hiding they will keep coming for me."

Cruella sat thinking to herself for a moment and then caught Ursula's eye. Both of them having a silent conversation between them. Ursula shaking her head adamant that she should not suggest what she was about to suggest. Of course Cruella didn't listen.

"Darling… Have you thought about… Maybe… I don't know… Contacting your mother?"

If looks could kill Cruella would be dead now.

"You know I'm rethinking that truce we made just now." Regina growled.

"She might be the only one who can help you Regina." Cruella said calmly.

"I will not contact my mother. Even if I am to die." She didn't blink once as she said this as to convey her absolute seriousness on the matter.

Regina sat there with her head in her hands thinking. Should she just go home and wait for the inevitable? Should she just turn herself over and be done with it? Contacting her mother was out of the question. If only Emma was here to help her. She was better at coming up with solutions to being hunted down. Regina was okay but once again she was rusty.

"Well I suppose, I'll just have to kill the guy. Then the target will be removed from my back."

The queens of darkness burst out laughing.

"Kill- She just said Kill him- Oh god its too much- It's too funny- I forgot how hilarious you were to be around Regina." Cruella said wiping tears from her eyes.

"One does not simply kill Rumpelstiltskin. That will never end well. Ursula said as she calmed down her own laughter.

"Wait Rumpelstiltskin? Why do I know that name?"

"He's the dark one you probably heard the name through the grapevine." Maleficent said.

Flashes of memories sprung forth in Regina's mind.

"Oh no."

"What?"

"I know why he's after me. And if it's for the reason I think it is, I am not the only one in danger and I need to warn her."

"Her?"

"Her, who?"

"Belle. The woman he loves."

"That man is capable of love? Who knew!"

"Yes. I helped her escape a long time ago. He must have found out some how. Dammit. I need to make a phone call. Please tell me you have a found in this hut?"

"Of course not. Those can be tracked. We aren't stupid. They have one not far from the docks though I believe."

"That's just great. I guess I'll have to go then."

"Wait what are you going to do?"

"I need to call Belle and tell her she's in danger."

"And what if someone has followed you here? They could get a hold of any outgoing phone calls within a 10 mile radius. You're putting both your own and her life at risk."

"Well what should I do?! If they followed me they'd know I'm down here and where the exit is! Help me!"

"Calm down. You think we'd barricade ourselves underground without a second or third exit than the one we enter from? What kind of spy's do you take us for?"

Regina sighed in relief. "Thank god you're better than I think you are."

"Hey!" Regina grinned. She's missed the playful banter of friendship.

"Follow us." Maleficent said as she lead Regina to the hidden exit further to the back of the bunker. She twisted the handle and pulled open the vault like door. "This tunnel goes on for a long while. Just follow it and when you reach the end you will exit back on the docks. Once you're out don't waste time get a move on in case you've been spotted."

"For the record I am pretty sure I wasn't followed. Anyway, thank you Maleficent. Thank you all of you."

"You're welcome. Good luck." The three echoed.

Spending that much time together they are so in sync with their thoughts and their speech. It's kind of weird. But it amused Regina so she just smiled. She turned into the tunnel and the door shut behind her.

"They could've given me a darn flashlight, I can't see a thing."

Regina walked blindly until she reached the light at the end of the tunnel. _I hope that's not some kind of hint as to what is about to happen to me._

She reached the end, stepped out into the daylight and sighed, glad to be out of the tunnel. Being blind and in a tight space did not bode well for Regina.

"Right then. Here goes nothing."

A/N – It's not as long as the others and for that I'm sorry! But it's better to have something than nothing eh? :P Leave me some words. Inspire me!


	4. Woah-oah I'm alive!

A/N – 2 updates this week aren't you lucky! This one is like extra-long to make up for the shorter length chapter the last one was. I really hope you like it.

* * *

The minute Regina had left their little hide out Maleficent made her way quickly over to the telegraph key that she had hidden in the back room of the bunker.

The room was usually where things that were rarely used went. They could get rid of them sure, but then you never really know when you might need something. Right now is a perfect example of that. In the dark corner of the room on a dusty desk, partially covered in books, was a telegraph machine.

Maleficent moved the books to the side out the way whilst coughing as a wave of dust flew through the air around her.

She hadn't used one of these machines for a long time. She sat in the empty chair that she had pulled out from the desk and closed her eyes to try and bring the memories forward. She needed to remember the codes for letters as quick as possible so she could get the message where it needed to go.

Maleficent had never expected she would need to use the machine which is why it was in the 'Dungeon' as they liked to call it. She never expected Regina to actually come find them. Regina was supposed to be safe and living her life freely not being targeted by the worst man she could possibly be targeted by. So having to dig deep into her mind to find the codes and sequences she needed came to a surprise to her. It shouldn't have really if she thought about it. When did anything that involved those two ever go as she thought they would. Or should.

She needed to get in touch with _her_. The woman had made it clear that if they ever found out Regina was in danger of any kind that they had to contact her immediately. Or else.

She looked around her for a pencil and a piece of paper which she luckily found in the desk draw. Her mind isn't what it used to be, she remembered all the letters but she needed to write them down first in case she made a mistake when she was trying to relay her message through the machine.

Taking a deep breath and releasing it she started tapping away.

.-. . -. .. -. .-

-. . . -.. …

-.- - ..-

She tapped out the machine a few more times just in case it wasn't clear the other few times before she sat and waited for a response.

It took 10 minutes before she got a reply. She didn't expect to receive any response after the 5 minute mark but was pleasantly surprised when it came through. Good to see that her attempt at contacting the woman hadn't failed her. If this hadn't worked she wouldn't have known where to even start to find her.

\- -.

\- -.—

\- .- -.—

 _On my way_ it read.

Maleficent sighed in relief.

"Thank god for that," She said to the room around her.

* * *

Emma was late. Her alarm decided it didn't want to go off that morning. Which caused a generous amount of curse words to poor from her mouth. She did not need to be late today so it was just an excellent start for her. It was the day she was going to start to prove to her boss that she could do her job just as well as her colleagues.

She had not long started working for this fresh bail bonds agency. She was the last person to be hired at the firm so Emma felt like the new kid in school because everyone else had already formed friendships or groups. Plus it didn't help that she was the only woman there.

She had been working at the place for about 3 months now. Before that she was waitressing a lot, just trying to get by whilst living under the radar. It got boring eventually though, she had been doing it for the past 4 years that she needed a change of pace. So bail bondsperson it was. Don't ask how she fell into the job because she honestly couldn't tell you if she tried, it just happened, but she liked it so what does it matter?

It had been tough going for Emma so far though. She has had two jobs and well, failed both of them. She wasn't doing well at all and because of that it made her fear that if she didn't bring someone in soon she was going to get fired and she didn't want that at all. So yes, having made a pact with herself to do better and prove herself, she was pretty annoyed that it was going badly so far. But when did anything go her way?

She hurriedly dressed, didn't even bother to eat or brush her hair. She would have skipped showering but she had done that yesterday out of necessity so she really couldn't skip it again today.

As if the day couldn't get any worse, she couldn't find her damn keys.

"For god sake," She said frustrated.

She used to do this so much that she eventually got one of those tracker things that you put on keys and it like beeps when you're near it. But what do you do when you lose the tracker remote that is the question isn't it. Now she doesn't know whether to look for the remote or just go for the keys themselves. Decisions, decisions.

After having decide to just look for the keys themselves, what was the point of losing time to look for a remote to then look for keys when she could skip one of those steps out completely and be out the door in a flash?

She found the damn remote first though.

She moved around her apartment waiting for the consistent sound of a beeping noise. Unusually she found her keys in the freezer.

"How the bloody hell did you get in there?" She actually asked the keys as if they would answer back.

Not wanting to delay time anymore she grabbed her bag and headed for the door only to be stopped by a faint clicking noise coming from the cupboard next to the front door. She thought she was hearing things though because it stopped when she had paused to listen. Shaking her head telling herself she was losing her mind she went to pull open the front door when clear as day she heard the sounds again.

 _It couldn't be._

She dropped her bag on the floor without a second thought and rushed to pull open the closet door. Of course it was filled with junk. How was she supposed to get to the damn telegraph machine now? She hoped to god the person on the other end kept relaying the message through.

Her wish was granted. Kind of. She could hear the clicking still going. But she couldn't make out all the letters. She had managed to understand an R, A, D, S, Y and U. She was pretty sure that wasn't going to be the message though. It made no sense.

She grew frustrated and just started pulling everything out of the closet not caring what fell out, what smashed, what broke, she didn't care. She needed to get to that machine before it was too late to hear the message.

 _Eureka!_ She found it! But there was no sound.

"No, no, no, no, please! Come on! You better go again or else I wi-," She didn't get to finish what she was going to say as the machine came to life with clicking.

" _.-. . -. .. -. .-"_

" _-. . . -.. …"_

" _-.- - ..-"_

Three words came through the machine but all she needed to hear was the one. Regina.

It read:

 _Regina needs you._

Regina needed her and she wasn't going to let her down. Regina was in trouble. _Regina._ Regina was more important than anything. Suddenly all her panicking from being late and being fired from work didn't matter in the slightest. All that mattered was Regina. All that ever mattered was Regina. She wasn't going to let her down.

After quickly tapping out her reply for the person on the other end, she once again picked up her keys and headed for the door. Only this time, Emma's destination was not work.

* * *

" _Love is weakness, Regina." Emma watched as Cora circled around Regina. She watched tears fall down her beloved's cheeks, wishing she could take away the pain her mother was causing her._

" _No," Regina said faintly_.

" _No? Regina look at yourself. Your weakness is already your undoing." Cora moved to stand in front of Emma, blocking her from Regina's line of sight._

" _This will not do Regina. You cannot have a weakness like this. Especially not in our kind of work." She looked Regina dead in the eyes._

" _Prove to me you're not weak Regina." She said._

" _How?"_

" _Do you even need to ask?" Cora was appalled that Regina need have ask at all._

" _You mean – No. I can't do that. Please don't make me do that."_

" _I'm not_ making _you do anything. It's simply, either you do it, or I will situation. I'm sure she'd prefer you to do it, if I did it things would be much, much more painful than if you do. Would you rather she die a painful death?"_

" _I'd rather she not die."_

" _Not an option I'm afraid."_

" _Why are you making me do this?"_

" _I can't have you wasting your life with this," She gestured to Emma, "When you could you could rule it all Regina. No one would touch you, they wouldn't dare. You'd be the most powerful spy in the business. That's what I want for my daughter. To best the best. And this. This person, is not the best for you. This person is a distraction, a weakness. Now you have_ distracted _me enough. It's time." Cora handed Regina the gun and moved behind her daughter._

" _I can't"_

" _Yes you can." Cora hissed into Regina's ear._

 _Emma hated the pain she saw all over Regina's face._

 _Emma raised her hands in surrender and walked over to Regina, standing in front of her with the gun inches from her upper body._

" _Regina." Emma said, all the love she had for Regina released within the name._

" _Emma, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I don't want to. I love you."_

" _I know you do. I know. But it seems like we are out of opinions here my love."_

" _I can't"_

" _Regina. You are the strongest person I have ever met. You can do anything you put your mind to. Even anything you don't put your mind to. You can do it all. You can do this too. I know- I know you don't want to. I mean I would prefer you not too," she paused to chuckle, hoping to make Regina as comfortable as she could in a situation like this, especially when they are both teary eyed and breaking inside, "If you don't, she will. She will and it will be worse Regina. I need you to do it. You can do it. I love you. You're the love of my life. You can do it." She rested her hands around Regina's as she helped hold her hand up. Her touch so loving that it made more tears fall from Regina's eyes. She held onto Regina's wrists and looked once again to Regina's eyes that still refused to meet hers. "You can do it."_

 _"Emma, No."_

 _"Yes, Regina. Do it."_

 _"I can't. I love you, Emma."_

 _"I love you too. Now do it."_

 _"Em-ma..."_

 _"Regina."_

 _"Do it."_

 _"I can't."_

 _"Yes you can. Look at me Regina. Look me in the eyes. You can do it. I love you."_

 _The sound of a gunshot echoed through the air and Emma Swan fell to the ground._

 _God knows how much time had passed before Emma awoke lying in the dark empty ally way. It was still dark in the sky so not much time could have passed. She lay on the cold floor and stared at the brick ceiling. She was momentarily confused before she remembered what happened. She hadn't planned on actually passing out from pain, she thought she'd have to fake it for awhile but passing out never crossed her mind._

 _She quickly reached up to open her coat and her buttoned up shirt and let out a sigh of relief. Thank god she wore that vest today. Thank god she was warned to wear that vest today. She knew something was going to happen but she couldn't have expected this. The first time she ever met Regina's mother and the last time she would ever want to see her again._

 _She immediately wanted to go find Regina so pushed herself up off the floor, gasping for air as she did. Just because the bullet didn't actually penetrate her skin and kill her, didn't mean there wasn't about to be a massive bruise that ached for weeks._

 _She made it all the way back to Regina's hide out expecting to find Regina inside. But there was no Regina. In fact there was nothing there. Nothing at all. As if no one has ever lived there._

 _No matter where she went after that she couldn't find her. She went all around to their usual locations anywhere she could think of that she could be, but she couldn't find her. It was like she disappeared from existence._

 _She gave up looking and just went to back to the first place she started. The hideout. But when she got there it was not empty. Cora was there. Rage filled deep within Emma, she wanted to jump out from her hiding spot and kill her for what she forced Regina to do. Regina was her daughter for Christ sake. All she needed was to be loved. Instead she was forced to kill. What an incredible mother she is._

 _She was seriously about to let herself known to the horrible woman when she heard her yell to two men dressed to kill, literally._

" _What do you mean you can't find her? It's barely been 2 hours since I last seen her."_

" _She's nowhere to be found ma'am. It's like she disappeared into thin air."_

" _A person cannot just disappear into thin air."_

" _Forgive me ma'am but she is one of the best spies in the world. If she wanted to disappear she will disappear."_

 _Cora looked to the ground in disappointment. How dare her daughter betray her like this? She moved her head to the side to look out the window to ponder, when she saw a reflection in it._ No. It can't be.

" _How are you still alive?" She didn't bother to move from where she was standing. She knew the blonde heard her._

" _Don't make me come back there Miss Swan or this time you won't escape your fate as easily. How did you manage that again?"_

 _Emma sighed at having being caught and walked into the room, the two men raising their weapons in her direction._

" _What does it matter?"_

" _It doesn't right now. Where is she?"_

" _How would I know?"_

" _You're her special friend, of course you would know."_

" _Yeah well when the woman you love shoots you in the chest and leaves her in the street those kinds of privileges are gone apparently."_

" _You're really telling me you don't know where she is?"_

" _No. I don't." Cora wasn't convinced._

" _Wow she mustn't have loved you enough to wait after all"_

" _Don't you dare? You forced her to kill me. Why would she stay here?"_

" _Evidentally she didn't kill you, so if she loves you so much, why would she leave you here all alone... unless she doesn't know she didn't kill you… oh that's too precious."_

 _Emma didn't bother answering. She stood there with fire in her eyes directed at Cora. Emma knew where Regina might have gone. They had planned to escape the spying business soon so they could start their lives together, maybe have a family someday, and they had it all planned out and ready. Until Emma_ died. _But of course, Emma wasn't about to give Cora any answers about where Regina could be. Emma would always find Regina no matter where in the world they were. Cora on the other hand, was no Emma. She wouldn't find her. And that made Emma happy. Cora couldn't hurt Regina anymore._

" _So, are you telling me, you've been together for god knows how long and you have no clue where she could have gone?"_

" _Nope,"_

" _You're terrible at lying." Once again Emma didn't answer her._

" _You might as well tell me, you'll just lead me to her anyway."_

" _That where you're wrong."_

" _No, that's where I am right, you will try to find her, and when you do, I will be there, on your tail the entire time. You will lead me right to her. So you being alive helped me in the end. So I suppose a thank you is in order."_

" _Maybe you wouldn't have needed to find her in the first place if you hadn't did what you did."_

 _Cora didn't answer this time._

" _It doesn't matter. I will never lead you to her. If I have to spend my entire life without her to keep her safe. I will do it. I love her that much. You will never find her."_

" _In that case, I have no use for you." Cora signalled the men and they immediately began firing shots at Emma. She barely avoided the bullets. She didn't avoid them all apparently because her white sleeved shirt was turning red. Brilliant. She ran for the exit to escape her attackers._

 _When she made it out into the streets she made a vow to never contact Regina. No matter how much her heart ached to._

 _The men followed her out into the street but by the time they reached it Emma was long gone and nowhere to be found. Along with information on Regina's whereabouts._

 _Emma knew where she was headed. She needed help if she was going to get word of Regina if something went wrong. Someone she could trust. Someone she knew Regina would go to if she was in danger. She knew just the person. Maleficent._

* * *

A/N – I hope you liked the chapter! I enjoyed writing this one! Please leave feedback lovelies :D Again apologies for all mistakes!


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